Double-transformation: I, Sakura Haruno! Will crush the pirates!

Hidan forcefully pulled the bracelet on his arm, retrieving the blood-red scythe. "Kakuzu, come help me! All the money is yours; I need them for a ceremony."

"Alright then, the other three are worthless, but the leader, a Jonin, killed the Fourth Kazekage, so the entire 100 million bounty is mine!"

Kakuzu raised his head, grabbed his black robe with red clouds and flung it up, revealing his body covered in cracks and stitches.

It was hard to tell whether it was a human or a beast, a monster, or something even more insane and ferocious... Its jet-black fur began to writhe, like an enraged wild beast bursting open.

"Oh no! Stop him! Don't let Sakura get surrounded!"

As the strategist of Team 10, Shikamaru analyzed the current battlefield, and his shadow spread out beneath him.

One of the two enemies is clearly no match for Sakura. If they can help Sakura delay one of them even slightly, the scales of victory will tip in their favor.

"Choji, cover me!"

Ino shouted, spreading her palms to form a square and pointing it at Kakuzu in the distance.

"okay!"

Choji used his body fat to convert it into a large amount of Yang Release chakra to expand part of his body. With a swing of his huge arm, he grabbed Kakuzu and the large tree behind him.

"Heart Turning Technique!"

Once ready, Ino immediately used a secret mountain technique, transforming Yin Release chakra into sharp spikes that pierced into the opponent's mind.

Finally, Shikamaru landed lightly on the ground, his shadow already wrapped around Kakuzu's entire body.

"Shadow Imitation Technique, complete!"

This smooth and coordinated combo is the result of generations of refinement of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's secret techniques. Few in the ninja world can withstand a full combo and still retain their fighting power.

If Ino and her two companions had only faced ordinary Jonin today, they could have declared victory by now.

Unfortunately, their enemy was no ordinary person.

Click, click, click!

Strange sounds came from all over Kakuzu's body. Ino, who was in direct mental contact with him, was the first to be attacked. After letting out a scream, she forcibly broke the Mind Transfer Jutsu.

Shikamaru and Choji felt immense pressure because of Ino's defeat. "What happened, Ino?"

"He... there's more than one person's spirit inside him!" Ino quickly reminded him as she stood up, clutching her head.

But the black lines that erupted from Kakuzu's body formed sharp spikes that pierced Choji's palm. As Choji loosened his grip in pain, the spikes quickly extended and stabbed at Shikamaru.

"not good!"

Unable to release the Shadow Imitation Technique, Shikamaru could only increase his chakra output, allowing the shadows to spread across Kakuzu's body in an attempt to bind the black tentacles.

"Hmph, your futile struggles are perfect for becoming my new collection!"

Kakuzu sneered, and the black veins surging from his body grew even faster.

Just as numerous needle-like veins were about to pierce Shikamaru, a kunai bearing a cherry blossom mark pierced the black thorn.

Amidst the low rumble of time and space being torn apart, a blazing light, as if the universe itself were being ripped apart, crossed over.

Sakura grabbed Hidan's leg, who was unconscious from being hit, and dragged him to the ground. With her other hand, she pinched down Kakuzu's tentacle and pulled it forcefully.

The violent force pulled Kakuzu to his side, then stomped down, creating a huge crater.

"What kind of skill is it to bully young people? Why don't you let me play with you and use your tricks!"

Chapter 267 Earthly Grudge Yu vs. Earthly Grudge Yu

"Hmph, use our techniques? Don't be so arrogant!"

Kakuzu's body, which was being stepped on in the pit, split open, allowing Sakura's foot to pass through the hollowed-out blood vessels and step onto the ground.

Then, a black, thread-like vein stabbed upwards, severing Hidan's leg and pulling him back along with the rest of his body.

"Hehe, why don't you try it and see if I'm just talking big?"

The girl grinned, and flames ignited in her hands as she prepared to incinerate Hidan's severed limbs.

However, under the extremely high temperature caused by the fruit's power receding, the severed limb did not undergo any changes.

"Haha, the blessing bestowed upon me by the Evil God is not something a mortal can shake!"

Hidan, whose arm was wrapped around Kakuzu's waist, tossed his hair and let out a smug laugh.

"Hey, this is interesting~"

Sakura's arms bulged with veins, and boiling chakra turned into steam that spewed out from her body.

The chakra burst forth, causing his body to unleash terrifying power, sending the severed leg flying in a Mach ring, streaking across the dark clouds like a meteor before disappearing from sight.

"You bastard, how could you be so despicable?"

Seeing his severed leg being thrown away, Hidan struggled against Kakuzu with bloodshot eyes.

"Fool, don't let her provoke you!"

Kakuzu tapped his head with his hand, and his body was pieced together little by little by the black lines of blood vessels around him.

Then, three masks emerged from the black lines of blood vessels, and a large number of blood vessels gathered to form a body.

The masked monster named Jigami-yu slowly stood up, its body surface wrapped with nature transformation chakra of the three attributes: fire, lightning, and wind.

"What kind of monster is that!"

Shikamaru frowned, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Shouldn't we go help Sakura? We can't let her face all that alone..."

The faint Observation Haki emanating from Ino stirred her senses, making her more sensitive and able to hear numerous sounds of death emanating from Kakuzu and Hidan.

"It's no use; we'd only make things worse if we went!"

Choji, who was leaning against the tree trunk as he walked towards the two of them, raised his hand and showed them the huge bloody hole on it.

Ino covered her mouth and hurriedly stepped forward to use her Palm Healing Technique to give Choji temporary treatment.

Shikamaru also had a gloomy expression and clenched his teeth.

"Ah, all we can do is pray for her victory."

In the center of the forest, Kakuzu cut down a tree trunk and sewed it onto Hidan's leg with black thread, temporarily restoring his mobility.

"Let's all attack together! We just need to get a little bit of her blood!"

Hidan got up and adjusted to his 'new leg' for a moment, then picked up the blood-red scythe and leaned it against his shoulder.

The three Earth Grudges released by Kakuzu beside Hidan seemed to be on command, guarding him.

Kakuzu himself formed hand seals and used Earth Release chakra to manipulate the earth beneath his feet, causing his body to gradually sink into the ground.

This was the first time in so many years that he had chosen such a cautious fighting approach before the battle even began. The reason was simple: the pressure from the girl in front of him was simply too great.

"Is everything ready? It's my turn now?"

Sakura clasped her hands together, and a terrifying emerald chakra formed a chakra cloak on her body.

The burning flames slowly transformed, extracting pure Yang Release chakra and entering her body.

Immediately afterwards, the bulging veins in her arms pierced her skin, and the black veins, just like those of Kakuzu, dangled to the ground.

After being manipulated by the life return, the outlines of four or five wild beasts also formed around Sakura.

"Damn it, Kakuzu, she really knows your technique!!!" Hidan stammered out a few words, mechanically turning his head to look at the monster beside him.

Kakuzu, who had buried himself deep underground using Earth Release, also had a grim expression. He controlled the monster on the ground and said, "This is troublesome. I wonder how many hearts the other side has!"

Actually, there aren't any.

Sakura's Earth Grudge Fear has already reached Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear, unlike the latter which uses the heart of a living ninja as its core.

Sakura uses her own chakra as the energy source for Earth Grudge Fear, so the resulting attributes are naturally the fire, water, and earth that Sakura herself possesses.

"Fire Escape·The Great Fire Extinguishes!"

With his hands forming a seal, the Fire Release: Faceless Earth Grudge technique, held high, transformed his chakra into high-temperature flames and released them instantly, creating a firestorm that burned Kakuzu and Hidan.

"Thunder Escape·Pseudo Darkness!"

The Lightning Release Mask, Earth Grudge Fear, opened its mouth and released a sharp lightning spear, sweeping lightning from near to far, tearing a path through the fiery storm in front of it.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hidan started running. The Gag of the Wind Release Mask appeared behind him and spat out a high-pressure wind ball, which hit him on the back.

This caused his forward speed to increase exponentially, and as he approached Sakura, he swung the crimson scythe in his hand again.

Why don't you ever learn your lesson?

Sakura raised her emerald eyes, waved her hand, and revealed her fair skin beneath her sleeve.

when!

His steel-like skin, simple and unadorned, blocked Hidan's scythe, and even grabbed the chain on the handle and pulled hard.

The immense pulling force sent Hidan flying directly toward Sakura, where he was then struck in the heart by her Armament Haki-infused iron fist.

"cough!"

Hidan tilted his head back and coughed up a mouthful of blood, then was blasted backward by the monstrous force.

It crashed to the ground, rolled three or four times, then bounced up, smashing through several large trees before embedding itself in a rocky cliff. Covered in blood, it slid to the ground.

"It's not that I don't remember, it's that you don't understand our teamwork! Cough cough cough!"

Hidan bent over, his face turning purple. As he suffered from oxygen deprivation, the itching in his lungs made him want to cough up all the air, and he spat out several mouthfuls of blood onto the ground.

Without wasting Hidan's sacrifice, Kakuzu's main body, along with the four limbs of the Earth Grudge Fear, burst out from underground.

"Earth Escape·Yellow Spring Marsh!"

Kakuzu's true form released a ninjutsu that caused the ground beneath Sakura's legs to sink, locking her legs in place.

At the same time, the masked Earth Grudges and Fears combined in pairs to release the Composite Ninja Art: Flame Wind Chaos Wave and the Fusion Escape Technique: Thunder Cloud Cavity Wave.

A vast sea of ​​fire and soft lightning surged and churned, and violent shockwaves carrying massive amounts of smoke and dust completely engulfed the figure.

Explosions, thunder, fire, shockwaves... trampled into scorched craters and red-hot soil from the earth.

"Did you win?"

Hidan, limping and leaning on his scythe, walked forward and stopped next to Kakuzu, who had retreated to the safe zone.

If he were to use such a complex ninjutsu, even if he wasn't burned to ashes, his body would be reduced to fragments, leaving him powerless to resist.

"I'm afraid not!"

Kakuzu glanced at the unharmed girl who had emerged from the flames and sighed.

Fire, water, wind, lightning, earth—these elements constitute the most basic ninjutsu of the ninja world, and their chakra nature transformations cannot break through her defenses. So what should be done?

Perhaps he needs more destructive chakra to break through that unreasonable defense.

How about... we try fusing nature-transformation chakra?

"Hello...!"

Hidan's shouts and the sound of him swallowing came together, but unfortunately, they did not interrupt Kakuzu's contemplation.

Seeing this, he simply stepped forward and punched Kakuzu on the head.

"Hey, Kakuzu, stop spacing out!!!"

The pain spread through his head, bringing Kakuzu back to his senses.

Only then did he realize that he was standing right in front of Hidan.

Several faceless Earthly Wraiths opened their gaping maws and devoured each other, their black, thread-like veins transforming into viscous waves that spread and engulfed the entire land.

A wooden mask emerged from the center, and then the entire clay rapidly expanded around the mask until it formed a giant beast.

Unable to observe the complete appearance of the behemoth, one could only vaguely sense the chilling aura emanating from its eyes beneath the wooden mask.

—Secret Art: Earth Grudge: Behemoth.

"Hmm, the scenery is really beautiful. No wonder those powerful ninjas like to pilot Gundams~"

Sakura, who was sitting cross-legged on the giant beast's head, stretched and gazed at the neatly arranged forest in the distance, her mood instantly becoming more relaxed.

As Hidan looked up at the giant beast's figure, he felt his breath catch in his throat and stiffly turned back to look at Kakuzu.

"You can do this too...?"